Berlin, Germany - Subsidies to help persuade
Germans to buy electric vehicles have helped boost demand but
cannot go on forever, Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Thursday.
Germany wants to increase electric car sales, especially in
the wake of a diesel emissions cheating scandal that has
engulfed the auto industry in the last three years. A €1 billion (R16.5 billion) subsidy scheme helped more
than double sales in 2017.
"Now there is talk about extending incentives. But this
cannot be a permanent subsidy," Merkel told an e-mobility event,
reiterating that Germany would miss its target of having a million electric vehicles on the road by 2020 by two years.
She also repeated her call for European countries to develop
battery cells. Currently the industry sources them from Asian
manufacturers.
"I am not sure if it is a good thing if we don't know what
happens in these cells," Merkel said, saying she was uncertain about relying on China. "Therefore I will try to push for a
European development... Germany is ready to take part,